AN AESTHETIC PERIOD BRONZE, BRASS AND JADE MOUNTED HALL LANTERN, ENGLISH, CIRCA 1870, THE DESIGN ATTRIBUTED TO E. W. GODWIN (1833-1886)

The form of this remarkable lantern is directly influenced be E. W. Godwin's design for 'Japanese Wood Construction' from The Building News, 12^th February 1875. Like many of his peers, Godwin never made the trip to Japan but instead drew early influence from imported woodblock prints and publications such as from Aimé Hubert's Le Japon Illustré (1870).

The accomplished metalwork, informed design and inclusion of imported components all point to this lantern having been commissioned by one of the titans of the Aesthetic movement of which Edward William Godwin must be considered the front-runner. 

The inclusion of the eight Chinese jade bi discs is intriguing. Godwin often incorporated real Japanese artefacts into his work, shopping regularly in the 1870s at Liberty’s East Indian Art Warehouse on Regent Street. The Victoria & Albert Museum hold in their collection the 'Monkey Cabinet' (No. 7-1958) designed by Godwin for his own use between 1870 and 1876 which employs Japanese ivory netsuke for the handles and carved boxwood panels for the cupboard doors.